“Unsolved
Mysteries”
For 15
years, from 1987-2002, a popular tv show ran called “Unsolved Mysteries.” Many of you are probably at least familiar
with the show: it focused on unexplained deaths or missing persons who had
never been found or a discovered treasure of some kind that no one knew
anything about or long-lost loves who had been separated from each other years
ago but people who had never been able to find each other again… The show would review the facts about the
case, hint at some possibilities, investigate possible leads, but in the end,
the episode would inevitably leave the viewer hanging because it was an unsolved mystery, after all. No one knew what had happened or why it had
happened or sometimes even who it had been.
And unless there was a later “update” at the end of an episode that showed
how a previously unsolved mystery was solved, no one ever found out the what or the why or the who. But that was the appeal of the show: they were
real-life mysteries.
The Gospel is
an Unsolved Mystery Revealed
Throughout
the New Testament the gospel about Jesus is referred to as a “mystery.” And it’s called a mystery because it could
not be understood or figured out by anyone unless it was revealed to them. And so that’s why the apostle Paul speaks the
way he does at the very end of the book of Romans: This “mystery hidden for long ages past [is] now revealed and made known
through the prophetic writings.” For
4000 years leading up to the birth of Jesus on this earth, the life and work of
our Savior and exactly what he would do was kind of an “unsolved mystery” in a
way: there were certain facts that could be gathered from Old Testament
prophecies, there were bits and pieces that could be put together to form a few
possibilities, but the entire story was still not perfectly clear. It was similar to a movie trailer that you
might see. There will be clips of scenes
and some one-liners and a cast of characters, but you will never know the full
story or how all of those pieces fit together until you see the actual movie
itself. The Old Testament believers only
had the movie trailer - the 30 second commercial.
For
example, those believers in Old Testament times knew from the very first
prophecy about Christ to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden that a descendant
of Eve would crush Satan’s head. But
they didn’t know exactly how that would happen and they didn’t know when. Many of them had heard Moses say that one day
the Lord would raise up a prophet just like him for God’s people. But they didn’t know exactly what this later
greater Prophet would do. Many more of
them marveled at what we read in our Old Testament reading today: that God
would give David a son to sit on the throne, but not just his son Solomon, a
Son that would reign forever. But the
people who heard it didn’t know how that could possibly be. Many of them were told by the prophet Jeremiah
that he would be “Branch;” many of them were told by the prophet Micah that he
would be born in Bethlehem; many of them were told by the prophet Isaiah that
he would be born of a virgin girl, that he would suffer incredible pains at the
hands of his enemies; that he would be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.
And so there were hints and highlights, there were scattered facts that
could be collected, but all of the details about who Jesus would be and what
Jesus would do and how Jesus would do it was still largely an unsolved mystery.
Until
Jesus came. Until Jesus was officially
born to Mary in Bethlehem. Until he
lived for 33 years on this earth and performed miracles and preached
sermons. Until he made that cross
famous. Until he left that caved tomb
just as empty as it had been three days before he was laid in it. Until he left this earth and went back to
heaven. Until all of it was written
down. Then all of those predictions that
the prophets had made for thousands of years before Jesus came made sense! All of the facts matched up. All of the varied evidence fit together. The gaps were filled in and the missing
information that had been brought to light suddenly made everything clear. The “mystery” about who this Messiah would be
and what this Messiah would do and how this Messiah would do it was no longer a
“mystery” at all. The mystery had become
the “Message.” The Gospel. The Truth that Jesus lived, died, and rose
for the sins of all people - no exceptions, no strings attached. The story of salvation had been fulfilled and
it is forever in writing for anyone to see and believe still today. And here is the greatest part about this
Unsolved Mystery Now Revealed: it is able to cement you in the foundation of
your Savior.
This Story
Strengthens
Here’s
how Paul puts it: “Now to him who is
able to establish you by my gospel,
that is, the proclamation of Jesus Christ…”
The gospel about Jesus Christ that Paul preached has the power to
“establish” us. Different translations
use the word “strengthen” here, which may be a little better: the gospel strengthens us. I might even prefer the word “solidify” in
this verse: the gospel solidifies or
maybe reinforces us. Because the picture that Scripture is
conveying with this word is to fix or support something so that it is upright
and immoveable. The gospel establishes
or strengthens or solidifies or reinforces a believer through faith
Christ. When we are surrounded by the
gospel of our Savior we are upright and immovable. When we are immersed in the Message of our
salvation we are fixed and stable. When
we are constantly going back to the foundation of our faith we are that much
more invulnerable to Satan’s attacks.
This Unsolved Mystery Now Revealed is the single most important factor
to your joy, your peace, your comfort, and your strength in this life. In fact, we would fall apart without it.
Reruns
And sometimes
we do, don’t we? Sometimes we start to
fall apart when we do not take advantage of that solidifying Word like we
should. We might start getting a little
depressed at times; we worry more; we get frustrated easier; we can’t control
our anger; we are overcome with sadness; we feel empty inside; we have a haze
hanging over our heads; we can’t seem to be at peace with anything or anyone…
and when those things start to happen, chances are we are not surrounding
ourselves with the Word of God about our Savior as often as we should. Maybe that’s not the case, but usually, when
we’re not in the right state of mind and our attitude is not where it should
be, the Word of our God is sadly absent.
Our daily reading of the Bible might have fallen down the priority
list. Family devotions might be iffy at
best. Worship itself might be just a
habit and nothing more. Bible study might
not seem all that important… At those
times we are not fully immersing ourselves in the living and active Word of God
and we wonder why we are feeling down! It’s
like we are treating the story about the Savior like a rerun at times. We’ve heard it before, we’ve read it before,
we’ve studied it before and there’s not really anything new. It’s not all that exciting or special or
groundbreaking. It’s the same message
week in and week out. It’s not a big
deal if we skip it every now and then.
But it
is a big deal. It’s a waste! It’s a waste when that the Unsolved Mystery
that the Lord has now revealed in the pages of Scripture, the Truth that he has
had written down for us in our own language, the gospel that he has given us
the ability to read and multiple opportunities to study it and a group of
Christians who believe it just like we do, it’s a waste when we don’t read it
or hear it or delve into it when we have the chance. We put it off for tomorrow or we don’t treat
it all that seriously or we find something else to occupy our time. And, believe it or not, I do that too. Even though I deal with the Word of God on a
daily basis, my own personal time with the Word for the good of my faith and the strengthening of my heart lacks sometimes. I push it out of my schedule or I just never
get around to it or I simply “get it done” to get it done. And so why should I be confused when I
struggle mentally and emotionally and psychologically and spiritually at times
like those? The solidifying Word of God
about my Savior is not as prominent in my everyday life as it needs to be in
those cases. And so where do we need to
go when we realize what has been happening?
We need to go back to the Word.
In fact, we can go right back to the very end of the book of Romans: “Now to him who is able to establish you by
my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of
the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through
the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations
might believe and obey him — to the only wise God be glory forever through
Jesus Christ! Amen.” This beautiful gospel
is the only thing that will pick us up.
It is the only thing that will fix what is wrong.
Closure
On the
old tv show “Unsolved Mysteries,” the updates of previous episodes that
explained how a mystery had been solved were really interesting. It was neat to see the new information that
had come up or another lead that came out of the woodwork or a person that had
been found who tied together facts that were previously irreconcilable. Those updates were nice because there was finally
“closure” to the story. There was a final
chapter that rounded out all of the events and left nothing hanging in the
balance.
The
Bible itself provides “closure” to its story as well. And not just about the prophecies of Jesus in
Old Testament times, but about what will happen to us in the future. The Lord clearly lays out for us in the
verses and chapters and books of the Bible that no matter what are faults have
been, we are still forgiven. And no
matter what our sins may look like, they have already been taken away by Christ
and his cross. And no matter how often
we don’t take advantage of that solidifying Word of God, that same Word of God
guarantees us eternal life. And yes, it
is a rerun! But it has to be a
rerun. It must be! And that’s what so great about it! We know what Jesus has done for us and we
know how it is all going to end. We
don’t have to worry about what will happen to us when we die. We don’t have to wonder about what God’s
decision will be on Judgment Day. We
don’t have to lose sleep over what may or may not occur in the years to
come. Because it’s not a mystery
anymore. And it’s not “unsolved”
either. Our future is secure in Christ. Our home is prepared for us in heaven. And until we get there we have the wonderful
words of Scripture to guide us and guard us, to teach us and feed us, to
establish and strengthen and solidify us through faith in our Savior. Realize what a blessing it is to have those
reruns of that Word in your hands and those penetrating truths about your
Savior deep within your heart. There is
nothing more important to you in this life than that gospel. I know you’ve seen this Unsolved Mystery Now
Revealed any number of times before. You’ve
read it before, you’ve studies it before, you’ve worshiped it before, you’ve
heard it before. Hear it again. Hear it again.
Amen.
“To the only wise
God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.” - Romans 16:27
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